Fire escape



C. C. AABBOTT AND W. E. AND B. L. BSSETT.

FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED Dfc.9, 1929.

Patented J une 13, i922.

'lIrIlIlIlIlIIInII ,Hummml iTI lIl CEClL C. ABBOTT, OF HARBOR SPB-NGS,AND NILLAR-D EARL BASSETT AND BERT LESLIE BASSETT, OF DETROT, MC-IIGAN,ASSGNORS OF ONE-FOURTH TO R'VN L. BSSETT, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

terasse.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 13, 1922.

Application filed Deeember, 1920. Serial No. 429,409.

To all whom it 'may concern.'

Be it known that We, Cnc/ir. C. ABBOTT, residing at Harbor Springs,county of Emmet, and VVILLARD EARL BAssnTr and BERT L. Bassnrr, residingat Detroit, county of layne, and State of Michigan, citizens of theUnited States, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Fire Escapes, of Which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fire escapes and seeks -to provide a devicewhich Will be simple and compact in the construction and arrangement ofits parts and Which may be readily anchored in a room and loweredthrough a Windev: to permit the occupant of the room to descend insafety to the ground. The invention also has for an object the provisionof means for automatically governing the descent.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which-Figure 1 is side elevation, partly broken away, and in section, of oneembodiment of ou r invention;

Figure 2 is al similar vieW looking at the edge of the device;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line BH3 of ll`igure l,

ln cz'irrying out the invention, ive employ a casir which isilareferably circular and compr `Aes a circumferential Wall 'l and sideplates 2. as shown. Upon the circumferen- ,in the illustrated form ofthe inive rigidly secure an eye 3 Which f be engaged over a permanenthook or erivise anchored to the Wall of a room immediately acent aWindow. Upon the inner surface of the circular Wall, ive provide blocksor projections 4l at various points to finnish supports for theoperating mechanism presently set forth in detail. t a pointdiametrically opposite the anchoring eye 3, a slot or opening isprovided in the circular Wall 1 and through the said slot or opening thelowering cable or flexible strap passes. The inner end of this strap orcable is secured to a shaft 6 Which is journaled in the side plates 2 ofthe casing, the cable or strap being Wound about the shaft, as shown andas will be understood The free end of the strap or cable has permanentlysecured thereto a crosshead or bar 7 which is provided at its centerWith an opening 8 through which a belt (not shown) may be inserted to bepassed about the body f the person who is to use the device and fastenedso as to form a support. Hand holes 10 are formed in the bar 7 near theends thereof so that the person descending by the use of the device maygrasp the bar and hold it against twisting and thereby minimizeliability ofthe cable or strap binding in the opening through which itleaves the casing.

The casing is divided by a longitudinal partition 11 Which mayconveniently be integral with the circular ivall of the casing, thecable or strap being disposed Within one of tie chambers therebyproduced and the shaft 6 extending transversely through both chambers,shown clearly in Figure 3. Upon the side of the partition more remotefrom the strap 5, is a boss 12 encircling` the shaft 6 and having oneend of the volute spring 18 secured thereto. rllhe said spring is Woundabout the boss 12 and'is housed Within and has its outer end secured toa drinn l-f which is mounted loosely upon the shaft so as to be free torotate about the same. Upon the annular Wall of the drum is a gear 15which meshes with an elongated pinion 16 fined upon a countershaft 17which is journaled in the partition 11 and the side of the casing. Thepinion 16 also meshes with an idler gear 18 disposed between the drumand the adjacent side of the casing and carried by a stub shaft on theside of the casing. rEhe idler in turn meshes With a pinion 19 on theshaft 6 and it will be readily seen that, by reason of this train ofgearing, the unwinding of the strap 5 will cause Winding of the spring.

fr Worm shaft 20 is dispose-d longitudinally of the casing anc. is inmesh with the gear 15 as clearly shown. The Worm .shaft also equippedwith a pinion 21, which, in turn` meshes with a second Worm 22 formedupon a goif'ernor shaft 23, said shaft having a collar 2.4L securedthereto. To the said collar secure leaf spring governor' arms 25,governor Weights 26 being secured upon said arms at about their centers,as shown and as Will be readily understood. A second collar 27 issecured to the arms 25 and is slidably mounted upon the governor shaft,a brake disk 28 being carried by said @sie sae collar and adapted tobear upon a brake shoe E29 which is formed on the end of a floatinglever 3l) which is pivoted Within the near the shoe. To the free end ofthe lever, ive secure the coiled tension springs 3l which extend inopposite directions from thevlever and are attached in any convenientmanner to the casing. These springs are of equal strength and,obviouslyr` balance each other so that they normally hold the brake shoeout of contact With but in position to be engaged by the governor brakedisk.

it is thought the operation of the device will Ibe readily understood.Vl'he brake shoe 29 is adjusted at the factory, the device being'subjected to tests which will insure its safe descent when supporting' aheavy person. llilhen the device is not use, the spring l3 will beunwound or loose and .vhen it becomes necessary to use the apparatus thedescent of the escaping` person ivill draw the cable or strap throughand from the casing and eric-rt a pull thereon which will set uprotation of the shaft 6, motion being' thcrebj.r transmitted through the`gjears if), '178, G and to rotate the arin in a direction opposed tothe rotation of the shaft G. The spring will consequently be wound andits tension will act upon the strap 5 in opposition to the weight of theuser. lll hen the person rer the grouno and releases the device the 1will once start to unwind and this ac:` ion y"ill cause the cable to bewound and withdrawn into the asing, the Windingl of the cable or strapobviously causing` the device to return to the room so that it may beused by another person. rlhe rotation of the drum `will. be transmittedthrough the shown and described train of gearing` to the governor shaftand as the speed of said shaft increases the Weights 26 will moveoutwardly under centrifugal action and thereby te): the springs so thatthey will exert a pull upon the collar 27 and the brake disk 23 to drawthe brake disk against the brake shoe 29 in an obvious manner so thatthe frictional engagementbetvveen the disk and the shoe will retard thegovernor shaft and thereby check the descent.

lt will be noted that the device is very simple and compact so that itmay be very easily moved from place to place and in both forms thedescent will be automatically regulated, the maximum speed being;determined by the adjustment at the factory before the device is sentout. Y

nlilaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as nen7 is:

A portable lire escape comprising` a casing` provided with anchoringmeans, a partition Within the casing, a shaft journaled in the ends ofthe casing` and passing through the partition, a one side of thepartition, a spring secured at its inner end to the partition adjacentthe shaft and secured at its outer end to the drum and ivound Within thedrum, a 'lieXible indy-carrying device attached to and Wound about theshaft at the opposite side of the partition and dependingthrough theside of the casing, a rear fixed on the shaft, a countershaft, anelongated {ge/ar on the counteshaft, an idler mounted on the adjacentend of the casing between and meshing with said gears, a gear on thedrinn also meshing with the elongated ear on the countershaft, agovernor shaft driven by the gear on the drum, a speed governor mountedupon the governor shaft, a brake disk carried by the speed rover-nor,and a brake shoe mounted in the casing in position to be engaged by thebrake disk.

ln testimony whereof We afiizi our signatures.

[n s] [n s] drum loose on said shaft at

